The SoftHearted Are Not Weak
by chivalry-is-dead
Summary: [AvP] When Xenomorphs threaten the life of her village, Shandra Nuivol, Umpala Gwi, fights alongside her warrior bretheren.  But when Predators, Yautjas, come in to play, will their hunt destroy the village or save it?  PredatorOCsXOC
1. Prologue

chiv-id: Hey, first AVP fic! Read a few and thought I might just add another to the mix!

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The Soft-Hearted Are Not Weak

Prologue:

Name: Shandra "Panther Shadow (Umpala Gwi [this is African-Hun'thrall [this is Yautja meaning Dark Hunter)" Nuivol

Age: 20 years old

Relatives: Carlos Nuivol (father-deceased at age 35), Gentle Howl [Nei'yama Mai'yamaka (mother-deceased at age 31), Little Loon [Imeala M'da'alama (younger sister-10), Chief Moon Stalker [K'emph Gwina (grandfather, father of Gentle Howl-58)

Looks: Spanish-African, has cinnamon-brown skin, dark lush lips, gentle brown eyes, long, wavy black hair that reaches to her waist (often worn in a long and thick braid), has a lithe and thin body, size B bust, long legs

Personality: Loves her sister and grandfather, is a warrior and a skilled healer, loving and caring, she has a motherly aspect about her, but she is almost like an Amazon; she has been trained well and she is one of the best woman warriors in her village; she used to live in a civilized place, but her father and mother both died when an odd bombing occurred and the building collapsed on top of them; Shandra's grandfather took them in along with her sister; wise and thoughtful; doesn't understand much about civilized life seeing as how she only lived about 12 years there, but has learned a lot about writing and reading and speaking English, her sister was only 2 when their parents died, Shandra being 12; Shandra enjoys studying the plant life around and making new medicines for the village to use and is good with the village's children

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chiv-id: Well, that's the prologue, now on to the next chapter! 


	2. The Invasion

chiv-id: Hello again! Updated another chapter, just so my readers don't have to stare at a prologue page! Oh, and I'll have to introduce the newest character to my OC family! Shandra, Little Loon, c'mon up!

Shandra: Hello.

Little Loon: Hi!

chiv-id: You excited for a story?

Little Loon: Yay! (runs around excited)

chiv-id: (sweat-drops) Calm that bundle of joy before I delete her name from the series...

Shandra: Of course. (chases Little Loon)

chiv-id: Well, on with the chapter, oh, and:

Disclaimer: chiv-id does not own anything from AVP, but she does own all the original characters she made for this series. Go read!

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The Soft-Hearted Are Not Weak

Chapter 1: The Invasion

"_M'da'alama…M'da'alama…I'm going to find you…_" Shandra calls in her native tongue, playing a game of hide and seek with her sister. Today was a regular day and, like all regular days, Little Loon had asked if Panther Shadow, Shandra, would play with her. In the village of the Moon's Guardian, K'emph Teya, this was the norm. As the chieftain's granddaughter, Shandra was admired by all in the village for her heritage and her love for the little ones.

"_Aha!_" Shandra jumped up on the tent, surprising her lighter sister, Little Loon, Imeala M'da'alama, and made the tent crash down. Of course, it could easily be repaired, but Shandra fretted over it nonetheless.

"_I should have known better…I am no longer light,_" Shandra muttered, pulling her sister off and fixing the tent, "_When you get older, don't go up on the tents anymore, you'll get too heavy, and I'll be too old_."

"_No way!_" Little Loon cried, "_I will be light as a feather and you will never get old, I'll protect you from time itself if I have to!_" Shandra chuckled at her sister's outlandish ideas. Little Loon always had an overactive imagination, hence her name, Little Loon. Little Loon ran away to play with the other children, Shandra left to pick up the tent and she sighed. Little Loon would one day have to grow up, but Shandra hoped that her sister would stay the little nut she was right now.

"_Ah, Umpala Gwi, what are you doing with the tent? Did it collapse?_" asked an elder woman, Ja'ha Mal, or Bush Woman, her expertise in medicinal cures earning her the name, "_Or did you play hide and seek with your sister again?_" Ja'ha Mal would often predict the truth of the situations at hand, as if she were a psychic.

"_The latter of the choices, Ja'ha, as you can see, I've been drawn into her nefarious plots once again,_" Shandra blamed on her sister.

"_Well, I would not worry about it. Have one of the men of the village do it for you, I'm sure they'd me more than happy to display their strength to you,_" at this the woman howled with laughter, Shandra turning a bright red.

"_Ja'ha! You know that I'm perfectly capable of doing this myself! Besides…I don't need more men crooning over me about how I'm a flower and I need to be protected,_" Shandra argued, "_I may be a healer, but I'm also a warrior! And one of the best in the village! I can out do almost any man, except for that pig-headed one, Ool, that man is a bull!_" Ool Na, meaning Strong One, was indeed almost like a bull. He could wrap his hands around a small tree and rip it right out from under its roots, to Shandra's distaste. He had actually tried that on occasion for her, Shandra claiming that she only wanted the fruit at the top and that he needn't have ripped it out. Now she was sorely bitter against the boy, now she had to find a new tree to get the fruit from.

"_Oh, before we continue, the chieftain has called for you. It is something quite urgent, but when I saw you fixing the tent, I couldn't help but launch myself into a conversation,_" Ja'ha told her, pointing her to the hut on the other side.

"_Of course, always the gossiper Ja'ha. Good bye then, and tell the boys, if they come this way, to fix it, since I'm not going to be around to do it myself,_" Shandra waved and walked over to the hut. Ja'ha couldn't help but gaze over Shandra's appearance. Ja'ha was Little Loon's nurse and the closest thing the two had to a mother after Gentle Howl's death. Shandra was a slender figure, but muscles, toned and hard after years of training constantly rippled with each step, revealing itself as it shifted under her skin. The same skin that had a deep cinnamon brown quality, its texture seemingly creamy, the same skin that drew all the boys in the village. She wore the traditional clothes of a woman warrior, a halter top made out of bones from her kills, a bright red tube top under it made from cotton that they had handy, a red bikini underneath a red with yellow print skirt that went down to her knees. Shandra had grown up tremendously and Ja'ha was grateful that she didn't have to go through the same horrible treatments that the other women had to go through, particularly either the lip ring, where they made a hole in your bottom lip and had to enlarge it through the gradual increasing of the sizes of the ring, or the neck elongation, where it represents nobility and beauty. To be honest, Ja'ha had never liked the rituals of such, but it was practiced in the village by some of the women, since they were to be married off to other men in other tribes and such were the tradition. Ja'ha knew Shandra and knew that Shandra would rather die than wear such atrocious things, so Ja'ha was glad for this fact.

"_Umpala Gwi, I see Ja'ha has finally remembered to tell you about me, no?_" K'emph Gwina was sitting at a small wooden furnishing, a desk and a chair. He was currently working on sharpening a peculiar bone, an odd obsidian thing that looked as the tail had become the vertebrae. Shandra looked a little disgusted, but hid it quickly and bowed before her father, and nodded.

"_Do not blame her, I just happened to be in an interesting situation and it went on from there. So, what is it that is so urgent?_" Shandra asked, getting off the topic of Ja'ha, interested in the matters of her grandfather.

"_I was hunting last night and I came upon a strange creature_," he told her, pulling back to let her look at the tail bone, "_It seemed to be a newborn and I killed it before it could get any bigger. It is unlike any animal we have ever hunted. It grew rapidly before my very eyes and I knew what I had to do. Unfortunately, its blood is like the blood of the gods._" K'emph got up and took off a cloth of a strange shape, picking up a wooden stick before dropping the cloth again.

"_The blood melted the stone and metal right off of my spear. I cannot tell whether this creature was sent by the gods, but I know that it is something to be feared. Come, I have the beast with me_," K'emph took the cloth off of the strange bundle and Shandra scrunched up her nose in scrutiny as she observed the black thing. It had no eyes, a banana-shaped head, and was black, as stated before. It was in the shape of a very skinny man, its ribs shown predominantly and she saw through the open maw that it had a second set of dentures within. It had silver teeth and claws, deadly weapons, and she was glad her grandfather had killed it young. If he hadn't, who knows what could have happened, perhaps it could have grown larger and killed him.

"_Grandfather…what is it?_" Shandra asked, seeing that the vertebrae were placed on the outside of its back, the bony ridge trailing from the back of its neck to the tail, where she found that a large part was severed.

"_If I could tell you, my child, I would, but I have never seen the likes of this creature before_," K'emph sighed, sitting again, "_I've been working on its tail and it is very strong. It could possibly pierce the beast and not melt, seeing as how it is a part of itself. I have also been looking for a way to contain this blood. It is powerful, may be useful later…_" Shandra looked up and away from the creature, her curiosity satisfied after poking the inner jaw.

"_Is that what this is? You wish me to see if I can contain the blood?_" Shandra asked, her grandfather nodding, "_Well, I may have a theory…_" Shandra took something in a small vial from a pouch in the belt she was wearing. It contained milk of magnesia, a powerful basic solution, and she motioned for the tail spear tip. K'emph handed it to her and she jabbed at the dead corpse swiftly, producing a small trickle of its odd green blood. She watched it go to the floor and eat at it, smoke rising from the dirt floor. Pouring the milk of magnesia, she dipped her finger in the acidic and basic solution, showing her grandfather that its effects have been negated.

"_It is acid blood…I vaguely remember seeing something about this before…when I was in the city with my parents and Imeala when she was little,_" Shandra closed her eyes, memories flashing by and she spied something. It was a memory of her exploring the lab her parents worked in, remembering the green blood being acidic and negating the effects enough to keep in a glass container, but not to lose its potency.

"_That is why you are my granddaughter and this village's best healer_," K'emph chuckled, taking some of the neutral substance from her fingers and feeling it between his own. Shandra nodded a bit, crouching again to study the black beast. She had an unnatural fear about it, as if her instincts were telling her that it was something not from this world…an alien being with untold power…

"_Umpala…Umpala? Are you listening, my grandchild?_" Shandra shook her head to rid her mind of the mind-numbing thoughts and tuned in back to K'emph's ramblings, "_As I was saying, I have been sending runners to other villages. Only two out of the three have come back. The last one has disappeared. It is disturbing, but the third village was not on the best of terms with us…it is to…be expected, I suppose._"

"_Grandfather, if I may ask…where did you find the thing?_" Shandra pushed, her grandfather replying curiously.

"_On my way to the Ruins of the Moon Goddess, why?_" K'emph told her, Shandra taking a pondering position, her finger tapping on her lip.

"_Isn't that near the tribe we are warring with, the one you sent the runner and never returned? The K'emph Gam'da Tribe?_" Shandra guessed, talking of the Moon's Hunter tribe, their sister tribe. Ever since one professed to be better, each tribe has taken it amongst itself to protect the temple and they've been warring since on who's the better protector, even though her tribe has the very word guardian in its name.

"_…Yes…_" taking the hint, K'emph looked into Shandra's eyes and they grabbed their weaponry and gear. Shandra strapped on the machetes and spear, placing the machetes on her belt, the spear on her shoulder. K'emph had his own machetes, he running without a spear due to his previous attack on the alien foe.

"_We have to alert the village_," Shandra warned him, "_Keep the children and women safe._"

"_No, we cannot create a panic_," K'emph said, "_I remember hunting the black beast. When I realized how large it was and how afraid I was of it because I had never seen such a thing before, it immediately attacked me. It senses fear; it will only lead them to us!_" Shandra sighed a little, but nodded, following her elder's advice. They crept out of the village, only telling the few trustworthy men of the tribe to protect the village while they were away. The temple of the Moon Goddess lay in all its glory, despite its overgrown state. Grass poked through the stones, making the ground uneven, the occasional tree here and there. The fact that the place was still standing was an amazement in itself, the ruins having dated back to ancient times, long before the white man had ever landed on the African continent. Shandra and K'emph Gwina stalked around the massive temple, occasionally stopping and hiding behind pillars from the sounds. Shandra and K'emph were both experienced hunters and were cautious in all matters, their soundless footsteps and their agility showing their expertise.

"_…What is that sound?_" asked Shandra, hearing an odd snarling sound. K'emph was staring at something beyond the temple, having reached the far end of the temple. He motioned for her to look and she rushed over, kneeling down and peering around the corner of the temple, her eyes going wide with shock. Many men, women, and children were screaming, even more laying on the ground as corpses, their chests exposed oddly as if something had come out. Others had odd pale blobs attached to their face, appendages twitching and running over the sides of their heads. K'emph spied the runner, a hole in his chest, but Shandra was too mortified by the carnage. There were more black creatures, their eye-less heads bobbing up and down as they ran and caught the other tribe members of K'emph Gam'da.

"_Chief! We must do something!_" she harshly whispered, a child, no older than her own sister, running before her eyes before being attacked savagely by one obsidian-headed alien, "_We cannot let them die!_" K'emph instead shook his head and pulled her back, knowing that if they jumped in now, it would have only drawn attention to them and their village would lose two able warriors against the creatures. If they had first come to the ones nearest the temple…it is very possible that they would come after K'emph Teya as well.

"_We must prepare for the invasion, Umpala. We cannot let this happen to our own tribe,_" K'emph tried to persuade his granddaughter.

"_Grandfather!_" she yelled harshly, luckily being far enough away, "_If we stop the invasion in K'emph Gam'da, then we will no longer have to worry about defending the village! We must save them!_" Even as she said this, though, she looked at the onslaught and knew that there was no way only two warriors, no matter how skilled they were, would win against those numbers. Besides, the creatures themselves weren't mindless beasts, but cunning adversaries, as shown by the strategies they used to gather the humans. Shandra felt tears run down her face, seeing her sister tribe's people being killed off and she couldn't help but feel for the many who were to die that day.

"_We shall avenge them…I give you my word,_" K'emph told her sternly, placing his hand on his granddaughter's shoulder and turned her to face him, "_But if we do not assemble the warriors now, there is no way we will be able to defend ourselves and become their avengers. We must go, now!_" Nodding, they ran off back to their village and reported the news. Everyone seemed stunned, but the tribe members understood, sending runners to the other villages for support. The strongest warriors put on their armor, kissed their loved ones, and began to prepare defenses, particularly traps.

"_Umpala, Umpala! Where are you going?_" Little Loon asked scared, her face leaking tears as she was being carried over to the man-made cellar, a hole made in the ground and then connected to other tunnels and cellars. They had made this arrangement many a year ago after a disaster evacuation. Little Loon kept crying as she was put in the arms of Ja'ha Mal, the old woman fighting to keep Shandra's sister there.

"_Imeala M'da'alama,_" Shandra scolded, her sister instantly drying up and stopped crying, despite her face still being wet, "_We are going to be fighting against a terrible foe, but I promise you that I will win. I cannot win, however, if I have to worry about my crazy sister in the midst of my battle. What I want you to do is stay here with the other children, the elderly, and the women and protect them for me if I fall. You are my sister, a natural-born leader. You said you would defend me from time itself to make sure that I do not grow old. I want you to pledge yourself to protect the rest of the villagers who are down here, protect them from whatever we are up against, do you hear?_" Shandra had placed a huge responsibility on Little Loon's shoulders and Little Loon took this with an unusual maturity. Calm fell over Little Loon and Little Loon nodded firmly, getting out of Ja'ha Mal's grasp and going back to Shandra.

"_Good luck, sister, be safe,_" Little Loon gave, hugging her sister, then retreated back into the shadowy depths of the cellars and the tunnels. Ja'ha Mal nodded to Shandra as well and she closed the trap door, Shandra covering the previous opening with her floor blanket.

"_They are coming!_" cried one warrior, Shandra standing up quickly and running out of the hut, hearing quiet sobs from the mothers and the children, the elderly holding up as best as they could. All through out the village was eerily quiet, yet Shandra heard each shaky inhale of cellar air and quivering sob from her villagers underground, as if she were empathetic. This only strengthened her resolve to keep the invaders out.

"_I see one, no, two…there are many more than those…we are doomed!_" such were the cries of the warriors, some scared, some excited, and others preparing to die as the multitude of humanoid beasts walked out of the jungle and approached the defenders with a mocking curiosity. The humans were no match for the fearsome things, their inner jaws dripping with drool as they out reached for the warriors in eagerness. Some were immensely large, their talons razor sharp and their fangs gleaming silver in the moon light. Others were smaller, their appearances more docile, but still nonetheless intimidating with their numbers. All warriors, all 186 of them, tensed as they saw the beasts move closer and closer. Dead silence ran through the village and the jungle, the opponents staring each other down, until one creature screeched and they attacked.

"_Fight with honor! Do not let them in the village!_" cried K'emph Gwina, standing in his traditional armor, "_Go my warriors, give these creatures hell!_" Each warrior gave a huge battle cry and charged, their spears out in front and eagerly met their match. Talons clashed against metal and rock, inner maws snapping and machetes slicing. The warriors were even with the creatures, seeing as there were only so many, but then the pale blobs Shandra had spotted earlier began flying out of the sky and began attaching themselves to the faces. They resembled something between a spider, a jelly fish, and a crab. A long tail whipped around a neck and then smacked itself to its victim's face, the victim struggling with pulling it off. She saw at least three of the strongest fall to these fates, Shandra screaming with outrage as she saw Kre'Al falling prey, one of the nicest men in the village, to the shameful death. Kre'Al Na meant Brave One. She ran towards him, her machetes claiming several kills along the way. One creature stopped her and its maw snapped at her, the inner one snagging on a bit of her armor and she used the time to stab it under the colossal head and pry off the skull, finding this weakness after studying the dead one. Her grandfather had pierced it under the skull, the reason why it had died so quickly. There was no acidic spray, but just sticky gray matter that clung to her left forearm with vengeance as she pulled her armor out, killing more with the same method. Fighting off another, she quickly sliced at the thing that was clutching at Kre'Al's face. She looked sympathetically and in disgust as she saw the man cough up some weird white, frothy liquid and then something that reminded her of a chicken before being fully developed in the egg, a fetus of some sort. Scrunching up her nose, she helped him up and he came back with a vengeance tenfold, his anger at the creatures grown as he realized that he had fallen prey to such a pathetic thing. After observing what the other pale white creatures did, she quickly moved to her other companions, cutting off the parasite and helping them cough up the liquid and fetus.

"_How dare they impregnate me like a female!_" cried Ool, Shandra grinning evilly as she found that he had fallen prey to the white aliens, Ool crying fiercely and continually smashing the crab-like body until it was mush and he proceeded in hunting every single last white alien, only stopping to smash the occasional and larger black aliens.

"_Grandfather!_" Shandra cried out, catching her chieftain's attention and he made his way over to her, having to fight off another alien, "_Their numbers continue to grow! When are the others to arrive?_" K'emph could only grunt and shrug, he himself angry at the slowness of the reinforcements. They were doing well for their losses actually. For every one tribe member lost, at least 5 had gone down. The K'emph Teya clan were known for their prowess in warriors, despite having a small number of warriors. The K'emph Gam'da tribe were much better, having the same cunning training, but had more warriors. The only reason why K'emph Teya had fared better was because they had not been surprised as had the K'emph Gam'da had.

"_They are falling back!_" cried Kre'Al, the aliens indeed backing off, retreating and dragging the bodies of the wounded back, "_We have won!_" All the warriors cheered, but Shandra and K'emph were in dismay. Originally starting off with the small number of 186, their ranks had been cut down 80, around 100 were left now. This worried the granddaughter and the chieftain.

"_Where are the reinforcements?!?_" Shandra cried out angrily, throwing her spear down and peering around for them, "_Have they lost their back bones and become cowards?!? Cowards!_" Shandra listened for any protest, but none was heard and she stomped off, looking around the outskirts of the encampment and snarled in disgust.

"_Did you find anyone? We sent the runners ages ago…_" another handsome man came up to Shandra, this one's name was Dthwana, his wisdom best served in telling stories and offering advice in councils, his name meaning Wise Soul. He was young, but his intelligence knew no bounds in his quest to discover. Shandra sighed and shook her head.

"_I believe they're either under the same line of fire,_" she told him, putting her head in hand as her shoulders visibly sank, "_Or their dead. And they better be. If I find that they're ignoring their call…they would have wished this plague had hit them instead…_" Dthwana chuckled, but noticed some peculiar lights in the distance, pushing Shandra behind him and she frowned, coming to stand beside him instead.

"_There are some blue lights ahead…those are not anything of any tribe I have ever seen…_" Dthwana mumbled, his eyes narrowed as he looked at the lights, "_Nor anything made in the white man's city. Stay here, I will-_"

"_I will go. We cannot lose you, you are our strategist, and it would not do to have you risk your life. Stay and go tell the others to stay at their positions. If they hear me scream…the lights are probably hostile…_" Shandra cut him off, her voice grim and she stalked forward with speed and agility, her grace had her flowing through the trees and entangling vines. Dthwana shook his head, but immediately went to tell the other men of the predicament. Meanwhile, Shandra was hearing strange noises accompanied by the lights, snarling and clashing of metal.

'What are they...' she wondered, pushing back a frond to see an extraordinary sight. There were, in all, about 9 figures outlined in blue by the lights, making it hard to see what they were. They seemed humanoid, seeing as how they stood on two legs and were making strange guttural noises. They were standing around a 10th figure, the 10th laying on the ground, not moving. The lights suddenly dimmed and Shandra couldn't see for a moment. After a little eye-rubbing, she saw that the figure on the ground was another black creature. The 9 other shapes were men clad in strange armor, long braids of hair coming out from their heads, their faces hidden by strange masks. They resembled the ancient tribal masks Shandra had seen in her grandfather's hut, but they were still foreign to her. One man was wearing a scarlet cape, holding a spear that looked like it had been enhanced by technology, the obvious leader by his stance and the reverence that emanated from his other beings.

"_I see that there is more prey to be hunted…_" the Elder said, his troupe observing the drone with their feet, one bending down and examining the corpse. The Elder and the other Yautjas spoke in an abnormal mix of clicks, growls, purrs, and snarls. Shandra just stared from her position, frozen by the strange sight. All she could think about was how she could get to the other villages so that she could drag their cowardly hides into battle, but her body stayed where it was, the Yautjas capturing her attention fully. Could these beings be something the gods sent down? Their armor and build were that of warriors, and Shandra prayed fervently that they were here to help her and the village, sent by the War God above and not another hostile race…

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chiv-id: Whelps, that's the first chapter, you like?

Shandra: Cowards...(tightens grip on spear)

chiv-id: There's a perfectly reasonable explanation for that, so just hold your...err...spears, and wait would ya?

Shandra: Fine, but you better explain soon.

chiv-id: (sweatdrops) Uh, heh heh, not yet, Shandra, not yet...reviews!


	3. The Battle of the Sexes and the Species

chiv-id: Hello, updated again! There aren't as much reviews as I hoped there would have been for this one...(tears)

Shandra: Well, do not worry, I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation...

Little Loon: Yeah! Like they didn't like the story at all! (chiv-id breaks down crying) Oops...

Shandra: What did I tell you about thinking before acting? (sigh) Well:

Disclaimer: chiv-id doesn't own AVP, but she does own the characters she made up for this story. Please enjoy.

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The Soft-Hearted Are Not Weak

Chapter 2: Battle of the Sexes and the Species

Shandra snapped out of her silent prayers and her eyes became trained on the leader once more, his growls and clicks indicating that he was speaking.

"_All of you who have been unblooded,_" the Elder said, 4 of the Yautja looking up, "_Your task is to bring me the skulls of ten of these hard-meats, and yes, size does matter._" The four looked eagerly to each other and they pulled out some weapons, equipping them for battle. Shandra finally made a connection, seeing as how these foreign warriors were getting ready for hunting and the dead creature at their feet. They were on her side!

"_Excuse me,_" she said, coming from her hiding place, all the Yautjas, except for the Elder, spinning on their heels and roaring at her, their weapons coming up, "_Are you fighting the creatures as well?_" Intimidated by their quick change to offense, she held her hands up a bit meekly in a gesture of peace.

"_Please, our village is being attacked and our spineless allies have abandoned us in our time of need,_" she pleaded, still speaking in her native tongue, "_You seem capable warriors, in fact, the best, and we need your help. You are fighting against these as well, and I suppose that since we are all fighting the same enemy, we can join together against the monstrosity of these creatures._" She found the jabs of weapons annoying, but she ignored them, hoping to get to the leader. Shandra then realized that perhaps they didn't speak their language and decided to pick up her English.

"I am Shandra, my village name is Panther Shadow, Umpala Gwi in my language," she started off, the Elder holding up a hand to stop the warriors, recognizing the English instead of the African language and she sighed with relief, "And I am asking for your help against these creatures who are as dark as night." She walked over to the dead alien and kicked at it. The Elder looked at her questioningly, though she couldn't tell from behind his mask.

"You are fighting them, as well," Shandra guessed, "My village could do well with more warriors. Our allies have turned into spineless cowards and run away, offering no help despite the replies of our runners. We need help. Please, I fear another wave of them are coming after us." She had an African accent to her voice, a lovely calming tone that had the Yautjas putting down their weapons and look at each other. The ooman was talking to them! A female no less! The Elder didn't take this offensively, but did glare at her sternly from his mask.

"Ooman…" the Elder replied in a deep voice, "We do not help the weak." Shandra looked at him outraged.

"We are not weak! I am of the K'emph Teya tribe! We are the guardians of the moon goddess' temple! We train the best of the best, warriors to their fullest strength! I am a warrior as well, and I can assure you, I am not weak!" she snapped, the Elder growling at her insolence.

"You are soft-meats! Most of you are traitorous and the rest of you are soft-hearted! You are not a warrior, just a mere ooman female who pretends," the Elder roared back, stunning Shandra. Shandra roared back in fury, attacking the Elder, taking him by surprise, but wrestling her, the others looking on in humor. The Elder ended up straddling her, his weight easily pinning her down and he grabbed her wrists, yanking them painfully. Yelping, she closed her eyes in pain, but she opened them with fires in her exotic eyes, the Elder actually cocking his head at her looks.

"We…may be soft on the outside…and soft on the inside," she panted, "But just because we are soft-hearted does not mean we are weak!" Shandra bent up forward to prove her point, her last words coming from her mouth as she got close to his chest, glaring up at his face. She fell back, trying to get out and brings her torso up again, thrashing. The Elder was honestly amused by her display of courage, but honored her. Not once has someone approached him with such ferocity, and she had some strength, despite him having her on her back easily. He was about to let her off when he heard some screaming and yells. Shandra herself heard them and her eyes opened wide, stopping her thrashing for a moment before doubling it.

"No! Let me go! My village!" Shandra yelled, her eyes wide in fear, "GET OFF!!" She managed to roll him off, surprisingly, getting on her feet with speed and she rushed away. The Yautjas stared after her, then their downed leader. The Elder chuckled, then motioned for the unblooded to go and claim their kills, the four easily catching up with the anxious female.

"You…you are helping?" she asked, confused, the four Yautja bowing their heads in response. It was a good thing that the Yautja studied their foreign languages…English to be exact.

"Follow me!" she cried, leading them to battle and the Yautja stared after her as she sped along faster, actually outdistancing them.

"_She is quick…I believe her name, Panther Shadow, was an accurate name,_" Brech'Tinith remarked, dashing faster, the others nodding and following.

"Shandra!" cried K'emph, his head bleeding on one side and fighting frantically. She saw in dismay that some of her comrades had already fallen, 10 to be exact. She looked behind her, expecting to see the Yautja, or armored men in her words, but they had disappeared. She gawked in disbelief and then snarled and screamed.

"COWARDS!!!" she cried out, turning to attack the nearest black alien, but was stopped when she saw two invisible claws run through it, acidic blood running off of the invisible weapon as it pierced the skeletal torso. Staring, she watched the body slide off the blades and the Yautja turned off his invisibility, glaring at her with his hands on his hips. Apologizing before helping her tribe members, she felt really embarrassed and bowed, running away quickly. He looked at the one he had killed. It was a drone, a mere worker bee in human terms. He snorted in disappointment, going invisible again and joining the carnage of black creatures.

"_Umpala, why are the creatures falling around us? We have no even touched them,_" K'emph questioned, stopping himself from stabbing an already dead beast.

"_Friends…that is all you need to know for now grandfather!_" she told him, stabbing a warrior Xenomorph, Brech'Tinith groaning in complaint. She grasped the crown of the warrior hard-meat and snarled as she ripped it off, the skull easily dropping form the severed neck.

"_Brech, she is stealing all the warriors!_" a Yautja complained, throwing aside a measly drone, this one's name being Lanthro'j, "_I will not have sufficient heads to prove my bloodying by the time we have slaughtered them all!_"

"_Speak for yourself!_" another one cried, his name Ph'tharr, "_They make excellent decoys!_" Ph'tharr had already bagged 5 warrior skulls, happy for the oomans who were making the hard-meats easy targets, especially the warrior ones. The oomans all seemed to gang up on these particular ones, seeing as how they were bigger. While the warrior hard-meat was distracted, Ph'tharr would just lop the hard-meat's head off with his smart disc, something resembling a mechanized-version of a shuriken. The oomans would not complain, but yell in victory and happiness, smiling at the Yautja, then running away to do battle with another. Ph'tharr liked this arrangement.

"_Large hard-meat, to your left!_" Lanthro'j cried, flinging his smart disc and it caught the Xenomorph in the shoulder and stayed there, the Xenomorph glancing at the troublesome thing and bit it, pulling it out. Only in the armor, seeing as how it cared very little about it. It crushed the smart disc between its jaws, its inner jaw easily short-circuiting the machine so that it wouldn't get shocked. Dropping the smart disc in pieces, the Xenomorph growled hungrily and advanced, the four young Yautjas smirking to themselves.

"_Cara'Gin_," Brech'Tinith yelled out, the last of the four nodding and flung out his net, one that would normally tighten and crush the prey. The Xenomorph dodged it, however, despite its bulk. Using the net as a distraction, Brech'Tinith ran and jumped, shoving the spear, his combistick, towards the skull of the Xenomorph. The Xenomorph easily swatted the Yautja aside, Brech landing on his back and rolling until he stopped at the feet of Shandra. She looked in alarm at the Yautja, almost stabbing the alien, but she noticed his dreads and bent down, her grandfather taking the brunt of the other aliens.

"Are you alright?" she asked, concerned, but the Yautja just growled in annoyance and flicked her outreached hand away, "I was merely asking…" She turned to see what had flung him aside so easily and her eyes went wide. It was huge! Shandra felt sick as she noticed the agility and dexterity of the creature, obviously experienced and it was battling the Yautjas with ease!

"How…how do we fight such a monster?" Shandra mumbled out loud, her eyes following the Xenomorph's every move. K'emph turned at her voice and his own eyes widened, but had to turn back to battle the beasts. Shandra herself had to fight, but she kept glancing out of the corner of her eyes to watch the fierce battle. All four Yautja were ganging up on the black creature, but it was no use. The thing was just too big and they weren't very coordinated. Shandra guessed that it was because they were probably solo artists.

"_You s'yuit-de!_" Brech snarled at Lanthro'j, calling him an idiot, "_I said go left! How will we defeat it if we cannot even coordinate?_" Lanthro'j shot back with his own counterargument, the two arguing while the other two were desperately trying to fight off the now-pissed Xenomorph.

"_Hey, you're both s'yuit-des! Now help us!_" Ph'tharr roared at them, turning back to face the Xenomorph when its tail whipped-lashed him. Flung against, a tree, he shook his head and stood up shakily. Shandra noticed the big warrior's daze and she flung a spear, also seeing the Xenomorph attacking the smaller one and then heading for the downed fighter. It screeched, feeling the sting of the weapon at the base of its neck, its head turning to her. Shandra felt her heart drop at the eye-less gaze of the creature.

"_C'jit ooman!_" Brech'Tinith cursed, seeing the hard-meat stalking towards her, running towards her. She may have been an ooman, but if he would be damned if the creature came upon the female while he had a chance at saving her! Attacking females, especially an unarmed one as in Shandra's case, was as low as the low could go.

"_What the pauk are you doing?!?"_ Brech had to stop as he saw the female run straight for the kainde amedha, Shandra's hair coming out of her braid and it was flying in all directions. The hard-meat screeched at her and charged forward as well, both combatants not diverting their path as they met head on. Shandra jumped, grabbing the spear and swinging on it to pull itself on the monster's shoulder. The Xenomorph's head was jerked down by this action and it screeched, its claws reaching up to get to her, but to no avail as she darted quickly over the enemy's body.

"_Umpala!_" cried K'emph, seeing his granddaughter on top of the thing. He was still fighting, as were the other warriors, but the numbers had become greatly lessened with the help of their previously-invisible allies. K'emph threw down the dead creature and he tried to aim for the larger monster's head, but was afraid of hitting his granddaughter. Shandra took her machetes out in an X-shape and quickly began hacking away at the base of the already wounded neck, riding the Xenomorph in its death throes. It screeched, feeling its neck being severed, thrashing about, trying to get the girl off. K'emph gasped as he saw the tail whip towards him, throwing him to the ground and he became unconscious. Ph'tharr, walking with a foggy mind, was caught the full force of a flailing claw, raking across the armor on his chest and creating a gash. Cara'Gin was stomped on by a foot, knocking the breath out of him, also making a deep wound on his back as the Xenomorph dug its claws into his back trying to throw off the ooman.

"_Grandfather!_" she yelled, seeing his unconscious form lying there, a pool of blood forming around his head from his previous wounds, "_No!_" She hacked faster, driven to the edge in her battle-lust. She was sprayed with its acidic blood as she finally cut off the last remaining sinewy cords, the beast falling down and her with it. She got up, the acidic blood negated by the basic solution she had prepared and spread on herself. Shandra looked mighty dangerous right then and there, her eyes blazing and her hair whipping around her with the wind, previously-acidic blood spewed across her face and body.

"_Grandfather…?_" she called out, tears coming to her eyes as exhaustion ran over her, her blood-thirst finally cooling down. Collapsing near her grandfather, Shandra cried a little as she saw the blood, her heart aching, thinking the beast had killed him.

"_She kills the biggest hard-meat…then she cries…_" Lanthro'j says in disbelief, his mandibles clicking sharply, "_I do not understand oomans, especially this female one._"

"_Neither do I,_" Brech replied, shaking his head, "_Come, we must check on the others._" The other two were badly wounded, Ph'tharr with his chest wound and Cara'Gin with his gouges on his back. Brech'Tinith sighed, pulling the larger of the two wounded on his shoulders, helping Ph'tharr stand somewhat. He approached the mourning men and woman, Shandra hugging K'emph Gwina.

"He is not dead, if that is what you are crying about…just _dhi'ki-de_" Brech'Tinith told her dryly, Shandra's head whipping around, her eyes wide, "He is, as you say, just knocked out, unconscious." Shandra stared and then laughed a bit in disbelief, and hugged her grandfather, telling the others that he was just unconscious. Leaving the other men to help the wounded, including their chieftain, Shandra stood up and left with the Yautjas, Brech motioning for her to follow them over to the other side of the battle field.

"We have two wounded, I wish to rest them somewhere so that I may bring the Elders and the other blooded warriors here to observe our prizes. Show us your resting area," Brech-Tinith grunted, Shandra nodding and leading them to her medicinal hut. Shandra stopped them, however, seeing her sister's eyes peeking up at her arrival.

"_Umpala, Umapala! You came back!_" Little Loon cried, the covering entirely off of the door and it was now bouncing with Little Loon's happiness.

"_Imeala, stop, you are going to embarrass me in front of our allies,_" Shandra snapped, quickly scooting the blanket over under her medical beds. She had medical beds in her hut because she was a healer, though she wondered if they would support her larger patients, waiting impatiently at the door. The Predators watched in wonder as they saw her pull on the small metal ring to the trap door to see a smaller version of Shandra tackle her, Shandra getting up with her clothes and hair messed up and restraining an elated Little Loon. Upon seeing the huge warriors, Little Loon grinned.

"_Are they your boyfriends?_" asked Little Loon, Shandra stuttering and reeling from her sister's observations.

"_No they are not! Now get out!_" Shandra yelled at her, shoving her out of the door past the Predators.

"_They should be! They look strong and brave enough_," Ja'ha Mal commented, helping out the other children and they filed out, Shandra glaring at her.

"I am…sorry, we were protecting our young, elderly, and women in our cellars, we didn't want them to fall prey to those hostile forces we fought," Shandra apologized, letting them in and she closed the door and the trap door. Laying Ph'tharr on the cot, almost a third of him was hanging off, so she improvised and pushed the other beds together, his bulk taking up at least 3 beds, two for his width and height.

"Tell me, ooman," Brech'Tinith caught her attention as she directed Lanthro'j to put the other on the other melded beds, "If you say the women were to be kept here, why were you not down there yourself?" Shandra turned to him, and stated dryly that she was a warrior, as she had told them before.

"If you'd like me to tend to them-" Shandra was abruptly stopped.

"We are not like you. We are not oomans," Lanthro'j told her, setting Cara'Gin on the beds, "We are Yautjas, the greatest hunters in the universe!" Brech'Tinith nodded, Shandra cocking her head.

"I see…" Shandra was a bit disbelieving, but after all that happened, she was inclined to go with it, "And I suppose that is why I have more kills than you? Including the large monster that almost killed my grandfather, the chieftain of this village?" Brech-Tinith snorted at her, but Shandra just went outside and pulled several carcasses, eventually bringing in the larger one, to her hut, showing them she had marked each and every one she killed with a special dye, her trademark. A strange tattoo were on the heads of the Xenomorphs, in the shape of a panther, and it looked as if she had just jabbed some shape into their heads. She held up her marker, almost looking like a cookie cutter, only it had wicked razor sharp edges, its purpose to drive deeply into the flesh of her kills. The trademark red dye showed clearly on the outer edges, almost as if the blood from her more earthly kills had stained it so.

"I have killed over 20 this night, including the big one there," Shandra pointed over to the large monstrosity of a Xenomorph, "How many have you killed?" The hunters stared at her in disbelief, but it did work out some. She was an experienced hunter, having learned through her trials and errors and her quick wit. She might not have had strength, but she grew into her way of killing in time. The Yautjas were only experienced in minor kills, training exercises, hell, even studying. They had not gained the valuable experience Shandra had possessed.

"You have proven your point…" Brech'Tinith said, begrudgingly, "But we cannot allow you to touch our fallen comrades. You do not know our methods of healing."

"I can learn," she said determinedly, crossing her arms, "After all, I am a healer. And all healers can learn new ways of healing." Brech'Tinith looked at her, cocking his head as he measured her up. She was a nice bronze color, the sweat on her body making it glisten, her exotic brown eyes in almond shapes. She definitely had a warrior's body, her muscles flexing a bit as she uncrossed her arms, one hand going to her hip, leading his gaze down to her legs, long and lean. Over all, she had an outstandingly good body.

"…And that's why I will learn your healing methods. I cannot stand and watch as a creature dies, especially like those who profess their sentient ability…are you listening?" Shandra waved a slender hand in front of his mask and he blinked, his stance straightening, "Anyway…just teach me and I will heal your fellow warriors. They need medical attention and I cannot let them just lay there in pain while you go and show your trophies to your leader." Lanthor'j came up and looked to Brech'Tinith for an answer, seeing as how he was the leader of the troupe. Brech'Tinith gave a reluctant nod and Lanthor'j pulled out his medical kit, teaching Shandra the various things used in it.

"This blue liquid here is a gel that we use to heal quickly. Being on the hunt, we can't stop until we've caught something. If we are wounded, we use this. It is used only in rare situations, however, only if it's life threatening. The healing from this gel comes with a price, excruciating pain to be precise," Lanthro'j told her, holding a vial of the diabolical stuff before her eyes, Shandra leaning back a bit in fear.

"You proclaim to be warriors, of a distant galaxy, infused with advanced technology," Shandra said slowly, craning her neck towards the vial again and taking it from Lanthro'j's hand, "Yet you cannot make a medicinal serum that does not involve pain…" The medical Yautja rubbed the back of his head and shrugged.

"What can I say? We are not weak and need something to put us to sleep like you oomans. We are Yautja, we are fearless, and we do not fuss over the pain needed to heal ourselves," Lanthro'j countered, taking the vial back and putting it back in the kit. He stood up with the kit, Shandra snatching it from his hands and sitting down in a chair. She was sitting near the bigger of the two wounded, Ph'thrall, running her hand on the large scratch on his chest.

"I will take care of them," Shandra told the two, "Go find your leader." The two were about to argue with her, but she held up her hand.

"If this is blood," she gestured to the green fluid oozing out of the wounds of the two Yautja on the bed, "Then they have lost too much of it as it is. Go and find your leader, I will heal them." She got started, taking out a few vials of purple and green substances, the two Yautjas who were unscathed looked at each other and then ran away, fetching their leader.

"_Do think it wise to leave them with her?_" Lanthro'j asked, a bit concerned as he was the only qualified medic of the team.

"_I cannot say, but the Elder will have our heads if we do not return. We had a time limit…_" Brech'Tinith replied, his legs pumping as he jumped from one tree to the ground, "_We have to bring the Elder first, the time limit is nearly done._" They both arrived at the landing site, the ship's lights on to make sure the Yautja found their way back. The Elder looked up as he saw the two Yautjas, the other Yautja turning to find only two returning.

"_Where are the others?_" asked the Elder, standing up, the two younger ones bowing.

"_They…they are being tended, Elder Gr'aal_," Lanthro'j said hesitantly, still in his bowed position, "_By a healer…the ooman you met earlier_."

"_What?!?_" he roared at them, both now blooded Yautja cringing at the outburst.

"_We had a time limit, you would have left us if we did not report. You would have thought us dead, that was the rule, remember?_" Brech'Tinith joined in, "_Besides, Lanthro'j has taught her much and she is an experienced healer, albeit an ooman one_."

"_…Take me to your kills and your fallen ones. Let us see what you have claimed and what this ooman healer can do…_" Elder Gr'aal said with a resigned voice, his mandibles clicking with disdain. The younger Yautjas bowed and they lead the Elder and his troop to the battle field, each displaying the mark on their kills.

"_I see you've done well, and I suppose these are Ph'thrall and Cara'Gin's?_" Gr'aal guessed, going over to the other piles of carcasses, each with a distinctive trademark. Brech'Tinith and Lanthro'j had painstakingly carved the names of their comrades into each kill they saw the other made, but it was not definite until the two awakened. They nodded and Gr'aal stood up, about to say something when he saw a strange sight. Walking past the Yautja and forgetting their ceremonial words of congratulations and being fully blooded, Gr'aal walked over to the hut with the larger carcasses of hard-meats, inspecting and looking for the trademarks on them. His troop followed wearily, each bored and tired, not being able to kill. The two Yautjas were a bit nervous now, remembering that the ooman had outdone them in kills.

"_I do not recognize this symbol…is it one of yours?_" asked Gr'aal, holding up the monster of them all, the largest one. They shook their head and were a bit in awe of the Elder's strength, easily hoisting up the Xenomorph with one hand. Shandra came out, her armor off and only her red tube top garment on, the outer edges of her body sprayed with green blood, wiping her hands on a rag.

"Oh, I see you're inspecting the mark on my kill," Shandra stated, the Elder turning around abruptly and gawking almost, but no one saw because of the mask and many thought he was outraged, "See, the red panther? That is mine." She held up the marker, and fit it to the mark in the side of the monster's skull.

"…You…did this?" asked Gr'aal, gaining his composure back, "I have not…seen an ooman kill a kainde amedha since…" He cut himself off, turning to the ground to contemplate. Putting the kill on the ground, Gr'aal turned to her and sighed.

"Then you must receive the mark, as do the others…" Gr'aal told her firmly, remembering the last time and pulling his experience off from before.

"The…mark?" she questioned, cocking her head to one side in confusion.

"It marks that you are blooded, a rite of manhood…" Gr'aal stopped as she scrunched up her face at the word of manhood, "…rite of becoming a warrior, and all who kill a kainde amedha must receive the mark to prove this." Shandra nodded slowly, but still was a little unclear. When Gr'aal snapped an acid-tipped finger off of one of her kills, she still didn't understand. Gr'aal motioned for Brech'Tinith to come up, Brech'Tinith immediately stepped towards Gr'aal. However, upon reaching for his mask, he remembered Shandra and looked at her, as if expectantly.

"You will scare the villagers," Shandra told him, Brech'Tinith a little surprised at her answer, "Yes, I have seen what you truly look like. The claw scratched your friend's face and I had to take it off to see whether it affected him or not. Come inside, I am not afraid of your face, despite what you think." She drew back the curtain and issued them inside of her fairly large sized-hut. Being a healer had its advantages, along with being the chief's granddaughter.

"See? He seems to be doing all right now," Shandra sat next to Ph'thrall again, her hand gesturing to his unmasked face. Ph'thrall's mask was next to his beds, gleaming with the design he made himself. Ph'thrall's eyes were closed, his mandibles curled inward, only to uncurl when he breathed out. Ph'thrall had an orange coloration to his face, and presumably, his body. White and black speckles ran over the sides of his face, making his orange seem to stand out more. Ph'thrall's yellow eyes were closed, his breathing normal and peaceful.

"As is your other friend," Shandra then stood up and put a hand on the smaller Yautja's head, his stomach on the cot and her hand on the back of his head. Cara'Gin was yellow instead of orange, a vibrant yellow with green hues stretched along his face. It mixed in to seem almost like the neon green blood he had spilt before. Cara'Gin's mask was also off, since it seemed as if he'd be uncomfortable while lying on his face with it on. Cara'Gin's head was turned to the left, his own black eyes closed.

"They will be fine now," Shandra assured them, sitting in a chair between the two male Yautjas, "And I am not afraid. Please, continue with your ritual." Brech nodded, taking off his helmet, letting her see his own coloration. He was a bit on the grey side, pale white on the middle of the face, black stripes streaking the grey over tone.

"And now, you are blooded, be proud," Gr'aal told him, Brech'Tinith bowing a little and Gr'aal drew a small symbol on Brech's forehead and eventually his helmet. Growling a little in the pain, Brech'Tinith stood up tall, his mark smoking a little and showing an inlay of red.

"And now you," Lanthro'j stepped up after being called upon, taking off his helmet and she saw hisses of gas come from his mask as it was lifted from his face. Lanthro'j had a tamer face, compared to his team mates. A light shade of blue reminding her of the sky edged its way around his face, white tendrils creeping down running over the blue and now she felt as though she were really looking at the sky. He bowed his head a little and the forehead was marked just like Brech's, his mask next in line for treatment. Gr'aal turned to Shandra in expectance and she stood, not wanting to deny the dangerous warrior alien the ritual. Her village was built upon tradition, honor, ceremonial rites of passage; she understood how important it was to do them. She herself already received the human rite of passage of becoming a warrior, receiving her own marker for her kills and a tattoo of a panther, etched in red and decorated by her and her sister, hidden by her bikini on her right hip.

"And now, you are blooded as my men are," Gr'aal told her, the acid tip painting the alien symbol on her left cheek, Shandra keeping her face straight despite the pain, "You have fought the kainde amedha and you have received the mark of my race. Be proud, ooman, you have proven yourself worthy in our eyes." Shandra bowed gracefully, her eyes closed, her hands together, as if praying.

"Thank you," she told him, deciding that it wasn't so bad, but she still didn't think she had to prove them anything, "And thank you for your warrior's help. I am sorry they were wounded in battle, but they fought with honor." Gr'aal nodded and took his own helmet off, showing her his own mark and the others followed. Gr'aal was a normal pale white with black stripes and spots, his eyes were a deep black, like Cara'Gin's.

"They will be fine, though, and now that the invasion is over, you can-" Shandra was cut off, Gr'aal shaking his head, having a hunch.

"The hunt is never over until the queen is defeated," Gr'aal told her, Shandra perking up a bit at the word queen, "Until the queen is killed and her eggs destroyed, the hunt will never be over."

"So…she hatches eggs and those things are what comes out?" she asked, poking at the hand of one dead Xenomorph, sticking out from under the curtain from outside.

"No, she hatches face huggers, I believe you've encountered them before…" Gr'aal motioned to the odd white spider thing, her red mark upon its underside.

"…Oh no…" she said, her face suddenly turning white as all the blood drained from her face, "NO!!!" Shandra dashed to the infirmary, where all the women and children were hugging their wounded loved ones. Some of the wounded were…the realization hit her after she reviewed their words, coming back to the time she cut the alien off of Ool's face. He had coughed up a fetus, along with incubation fluid. Humans were the wombs for the babies, that's why they the humans were herded together when she and her grandfather went to their sister village, K'emph Gam'da.

'_By the gods, please let me get there in time!_' she thought frantically, the alien warriors strapping their gear and masks back on, hurrying after the female as she ran. Gr'aal understood her urgency, but when he saw her heading for the hut with all the women and children gathered around, he knew this was to turn badly.

"_They have gathered the ooman women and children around the infected! We must evacuate them before they become Z'skyv-de! Now!_" Gr'aal roared at them, the others nodding in understanding, bringing out their weapons as Shandra screamed.

"_Get away from there! Hurry, before-_" Shandra's eyes widened as she heard screams of terror from the hut, the newborn Xenomorphs bursting from their hosts, women and children crying from the horror. Shandra saw her sister, peeking through the window with the other children and they screamed as well, but her sister stayed frozen, the horror freezing her sister to the spot.

"_Imeala, Imeala!_" she cried, getting to the hut and shoving the fleeing people away to get to her, "_Run! Run!!!_" Her sister turned to her, Little Loon's hands glued to the window sill, her eyes wide. And then…it happened.

* * *

chiv-id: Oooh, the suspense!

Shandra: Yes, interesting...what happened to my sister? Is she all right?

chiv-id: (sweatdrops) I can't tell you...

Shandra: (glares evilly) chiv-id...

chiv-id: (backs away) Sorry...uh, I'm, uh, gonna be running away now...bye!

Shandra: CHIV-ID!!! (sighs) Please review because I don't want to see her cry...now I have to chase her to find out what happened to my sister, good bye!


	4. Losing Our Own

chiv-id: Okay, haven't updated this in a while, so I hope you all enjoy!

Gr'aal: We have been waiting for an eternity, ooman! Give us the chapter!

chiv-id: Alright, alright, jeez...put the spear down and let me do the disclaimer and then you can read:

Disclaimer: chiv-id doesn't own AVP, but she does own the village of Moon's Guardian and Umpala Gwi and all of the rest of the villagers. Continue.

* * *

The Soft-Hearted Are Not Weak

Chapter 3: Losing Our Own

There was no glass on the window, unlike her grandfather's hut, which was good because the silver-tipped claw would have broke it and the glass would have rained down on Little Loon. Little Loon screamed as she turned back to the window to stare, the black claw reaching for her and she swiveled around to run. The claw was accurate, however, and quickly snatched the back of Little Loon's sleeveless shirt, her body being dragged back through and Shandra could only scream and sprint forward in an attempt to get to her. Damn, why did there have to be so many fleeing women and children?!?

"_UMPALA!!!_" was Little Loon's last cry as the claw managed to pull her in, her hands and feet scraping along the edges of the window. Shandra finally managed to get through the crowd and she burst forward, sliding into the health bay and found that one grown black Alien had managed to somehow get in and was now watching over the newly formed ones. Face huggers were coming in and attaching themselves to the helpless victims, prone and defenseless because of their wounds. Looking up for a brief second, Shandra realized that it had broken though the roof. She saw her sister in its clutches, holding out an eager face hugger, its impregnating tube waving back and forth from under the creature. Little Loon was so scared and stared at it, but she constantly was edging away, despite the Alien's hold on her. Upon seeing her, Little Loon screamed, alerting the Alien to her sister's presence.

"_UMPALA! HELP ME!_" she cried out, the Alien dropping her and flinging the face hugger at her, the white spider-like creature's tail flailing for its new victim.

"_Imeala! I'm coming!_" Shandra yelled to her, trying to keep her calm while pulling out a machete and cleaving the face hugger in two. Glancing around, she was glad that her grandfather was moved to his own hut for medical attention, but was sad to see so many suffer. She immediately went for the Alien, since she'd have to kill the Alien to get to the face huggers and their victims. The warriors behind her were invisible, proceeding to slice the face huggers off of the wounded villagers' faces. Some were lucky, coughing up the birthing fluid and the fetus, others were already too advanced in the stages and the Predators had no choice but to give them a merciful death. Shandra was stalking towards the beast, acting true to her name, slinking like a panther readying for a kill. The Alien went on all fours and began to slowly crawl its way towards her, its lips curling back and revealing its sharp silver teeth in thrill of its newest rival. Then, they stopped and they faced each other, Shandra's muscles visibly quivering with anticipation, the Xenomorph's tail whipping around crazily.

Finally, they sprang forward, bursting with energy and vigor and they smashed against each other, Shandra trying to stab the beast while the Xenomorphs clawed and bit at her. She managed to get her machetes in an X-shape in front of her which stopped the head from plowing into her, but the claws were raking at her sides, its inner mouth slipping through the machetes and snapping at her. Snarling, she used her machetes like a scissor and closed on the inner mouth, easily separating it from its host. The Xenomorph screeched in pain, backing away and slamming its tail into her, sending her into a few tables and knocking some of the dead patients to the floor. She looked at the Xenomorph with rage from her sitting position at the wall and stood up, her blood leaking from the sides of her, a painful reminder of how she forgot to get her armor. Shandra managed to climb over the knocked over furniture and stood before it again, this time, with a bigger clearance space, circled it. The creature did the same, accepting the challenge.

"_Umpala…_" Little Loon cried, her high-pitched whines and sobs were getting to Shandra, knowing that her safety was first on the to-do list. Moving forward a little, she managed to make the black beast move back, a little intimidated after losing its second mouth. Little Loon looked up at her sister, who was motioning with her elbow to get out. Little Loon's escape was narrow, but this was as good as the going was going to get. Little Loon stopped crying for a second, wiping away the tears before preparing to launch herself threw the opening of the hut. Shandra then began running diagonally, helping to block her sister as Little Loon ran. The Alien sprang forth, angered that Shandra was trying to make an escape with his other prey. Shandra flung one machete after the other, one catching on its neck, the other in its leg, making the creature crash into the floor, hard. Squealing in pain, the Xenomorph opened its mouth and flung out its decapitated second mouth, the end still attached flinging out the acidic blood. Shandra had turned when she had downed the creature, but cried out in pain as she felt the acid eat at her back. Quickly applying the milk of magnesia, it cooled the effects somewhat, but it already had done its job. A claw sank itself into her ankle and she pushed Little Loon out, who scrambled away. Happy for a moment, angry at the next, Shandra looked down on the floor, she found the Xenomorph preparing to shoot more acid at Shandra. A last resort, she took the spear still strapped to her back and used her back as an angling tool, as if she were playing pool. Giving a grunt, she shoved the stick back, her hand soon leaking blood as she shoved the blunt end of the spear into the Xenmorph's mouth, the metal and stone end cutting her hand. It screeched for a moment and let her go, giving Shandra the time to slip the weapon out and use the real end. She rammed the pointed end through the monster's mouth, twisting until it came out the back, though the head of the spear was now melted off. The Xenomorph fell dead, the acidic blood leaving no trace of the weapon that had killed it except for the end Shandra held. Tossing it, she sighed and ran a hand through her wild hair, getting out her marker and marking it, still keeping to tradition.

'_Well, grandfather would scold me if I didn't do it anyway…_' she thought, tearing the marker away after it sunk itself into the flesh of the creature.

"We managed to save some of your people," rumbled Gr'aal, his invisibility distorting the air, then turning off, "But the rest, we had to give them peace." Shandra came over to her dead comrades, some she recognized, others she didn't. After praying for the Moon Goddess to take them into their kingdom, she turned to her now visible allies. She nodded, understanding what would have happened to them. She noticed that a few of the Predators were carrying the now dead corpses of the baby aliens.

"These are called chest bursters," Brech'Tinith explained, seeing her coming over and inspecting the odd and tiny alien life-less in his hands, "They dwell within the confines of the chest until they are ready." She nodded in understanding before walking past them, going through the outside of the tent to look for her sister. Little Loon was in her hut, as Shandra had guessed, since that was the place Shandra had always told her to go to whenever there was trouble.

"_Imeala, there you are. It's alright, the monsters are dead…_" Shandra told her, Little Loon running into her arms and Shandra picked her up, holding her while she carried her over to her grandfather's hut. Little Loon was crying and sniffling, telling her sister of her fears and Shandra just nodded to them. They entered the tent, seeing their grandfather on the bed with his eyes wide open. He had heard every last scream, every terrified man, woman, and child that had been at the medical hut.

"_I…I wasn't there…_" K'emph said, feeling as though he had betrayed his village, "_I did not protect them…_" Shandra knew that his misery stemmed from his inability to fight, and she let Little Loon down. Both girls went to their grandfather and hugged him. He was the only family they had ever truly known, the leader of their village. To see him break down…it only dimmed their hopes.

"_Grandfather…you were injured, it is not your fault…_" Shandra told him, Little Loon nodding in agreement, "_Do not blame yourself…_"

"_Oh my grandchildren…_" K'emph smiled for a moment, then it fell, "_If I do not survive…you must take my place…_"

"_What?_" Shandra blinked, confused by her chieftain's words. What was he talking about? Wait…what was that noise?

"_Grandfather…no…_" Shandra heard odd cracking noises, as if bones were breaking. She began crying, Little Loon sobbing as well as they hugged their grandfather, still holding on as if that would stop the noise.

"_Umpala…Gwi…you are…the new…aaahhh!_" he yelled, the cracking abruptly growing louder as an odd swelling appeared in the middle of his chest. The girls screamed, seeing their grandfather in pain. K'emph was thrashing about, making groans and grunts, the swelling growing bigger and bigger. Shandra just shook her head in denial, Little Loon hugging her sister for support as silent tears streamed from her eyes, wide open and staring at the chest burster-to-be. K'emph screamed out in agony, his mouth open wide as it burst forth with a spray of blood, the chest burster screeching in a tinny voice.

"_Chief…tain…_" his last word, dubbing her the leader of their village. The chest burster quickly slithered away and Shandra only sat on the floor, clutching to her sister as she was clutching to her. They cried, the traumatic moment only lasting a minute or two, vanishing and leaving two girls with their dead grandfather and an evil Alien baby slithering away. Shandra just sat there, not believing that it had happened all so quickly…and yet, in those few moments, her grandfather, one of her last relatives and certainly last elder, had died. She looked down slowly, tears coming to her eyes quickly and they dropped on her sister's head, buried in her chest. Meanwhile, Gr'aal and the others were discussing what to do.

"_**The hard-meats are obviously pulling their young from the oomans surrounding this particular temple…this temple…**_" Gr'aal was contemplating the implications, "_**Hun'ett, bring up the map for this area.**_" Hun'ett, a smaller Yautja, held out his arm, a band stretching from his wrist to his elbow, the band being a computer and it brought up a green holographic map.

"_**Pauk…I knew it,**_" Gr'aal cursed, "_**This is one of the temples we used to hunt at before the Great Defeat**_." He sighed as he sat on a man-made chair, glaring at the map.

"_**Well, I suppose we should finish up then,**_" Gr'aal said, "_**Everyone, prepare your gear. We go to hunt!**_" Several enthusiastic roars were issued, alarming many of the villagers, but continued on in preparing the burial of their dead with fear and grief. They had lost many and those who were close to losing their loved ones were even more thankful that they were still here. Shandra watched all the proceeds with a cold look, gritting her teeth, her heart hardened as she swore that she would avenge her own. They would pay…oh, how those black beasts would pay…

* * *

Shandra: ... 

chiv-id: Uh...Shandra? You okay?

Shandra: You killed my grandfather, how else am I supposed to react?

chiv-id: Yeah...sorry...let's give Shandra a few breather moments and then I'll update the next one. Reviews, I need 'em!


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